Shaft-supporter for vehicles.



No. 849,416. PATENTED APR. 9, 1907.

E. NESTLER. SHAFT SUPPORTBR FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6. 1905.

S'VLQZW W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL N ESTLER, OF PROVO CITY, UTAH, ASSIGNOR BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO IDEAL SHAFT SUPPORTER COMPANY,' OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

SHAFT-SUPPORTER FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907.

Application filed June 6, 1905- Serial No. 263,934.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL N ESTLER, a citirattling.

zen of the United States, and a resident of Provo City, in the county of Utah and State of Utah, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shaft-Supporters.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective device to hold the shafts in an approximately vertical position when the vehicle is not in use and the invention consists in the arrangement and construction of the parts illustrated and described in the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown in Figure 1 a side elevation of a broken portion of a shaft-axle provided with. my spring shaft-support. Fig. 2 shows a front view of the holder as used in my invention.

It is well known that pleasure -.vehicles especially, which are provided with frail shafts, are likely to have the shafts broken when they are permitted to rest upon the ground at the forward end while not in use. Any weight going-upon the shafts is likely to break them. In order to provide a neat and simple device which will in no way detract from the stylish appearance of the vehicle and in order to provide a device which can be adjusted to the various weights of the shafts, I construct a shaft-supporter comprising a suitable bracket, made of metal, comprising the forward loop 7, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, from which extends the flat portion 6 of the holding-arms 8 and 9, these arms extending at an angle to the flat or base portion 6, as shown in Fig. 1, and extending rearward. Both of these arms 8 and 9 are perforated to receive a pin 12; but one arm, the one marked 8, is provided with a retaininglip 10, bent outwardly and at right angles to the arm 8, so that this retaining-lip serves as a stop to the pin 13, held within the pin 12, as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be noticed that the inner faces of the arms 8 and 9 extend in parallel planes, and snugly held between these arms 8 and 9, which are in the form of springs and pressed toward one another, is the helical spring 14, which spring 14 has one end securely fixed within the pin 12. In the arms 8 and 9, pressing toward one another, the spiral spring is gripped and held to prevent any So, also} is the pin 12 made; to snugly fit within the seating to avoid any rattling.

Extending from the spiral 14 is a portion 16, forming an arm or lever, terminating in the hook 15. As shown in Fig. 1, the normal position of this lever-ar1n 16 is under a predetermined tension, this tension being regulated in rotating the pin 12 and inserting into the same the cotter 13, so that the head of the cotter will rest against the lipl lO, which forms a stop for it.

In order thatan adjustment may be secured at any one-quarter turn of the pin 12, I provide the pin with two openin s, positioned at right angles to one anot ier. In Fig. 1 the position of one opening is indicated by the dotted lines :20.

Normally the s ring 14 has such tension that when the ve iicle is not in use and the shafts 5 are thrown upward the arm will exert a pressure against the shaft to hold the same in a vertical position. As the shafts are carried down they are made to work against the tension of this spring, as this spring is coiled up against its tension when the shafts are lowered, thus further serving to take a portion of the load from the gigsaddle.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a broken portion of an axle 1, which is provided with the usual clip 25, provided below with the retainingplate 24, held by the nuts 26. \Vorking upon the clip 25 is the bar 2, provided with the usual ears 3, between which is held the thill-iron 4, to which the shaft is secured. I make the clip 25 and plate 24 perform a double function, in that I interpose the base or flat portion 6 of my bracket between the ear plate 2 and the clip-plate 24, so that the nuts 26 hold both the thill-iron and my spring holding-frame.

In order to nicely secure the arm of the spring to the vehicle-shaft, I provide adjustable clip 19, which by means of a screw 20 may be set at any suitable point upon the vehicle-shaft, and this clip is provided with two similar ears 18, within which ears is held a pin 17, which rides and slides upon the spring. The spring is prevented from becoming detached from the vehicle-shaft by means of a terminal hook 15, which when the end is encountered engages the pin 17.

From this it will be noticed that I provide a non-rattling shaft-support, there being no movement between the pin 17 and the spring 16, for the reason that this spring when the vehicle is used is in frictional working engagement with the pin, that the spring is given adjustment first by means of a pin, and consequently that the tension may also be adjusted by means of the clip 19.

These shaft-supporters may be made in various sizes to meet the different conditions, and,

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is

1. A shaft-support, comprising a bracket secured to the axle, a pin rotatably mounted in the bracket, a helical spring rigidly secured at one end to the pin and having its other end extended forward over the top of the axle to form an arm or lever, a clip upon the shaft with which the front end of the arm or lever has sliding connection, and means for rotatably adjusting the pin to vary the tension of the spring.

2. A shaft-support, comprising a bracket secured to the axle and having a pair of rearwardly-extending arms, a pin rotatably mounted in the arms, a helical spring rigidly secured at one end to the pin and having its other end extended forward over the top of the axle to form an arm or lever, a clip upon the shaft with which the front end of the arm or lever has sliding connection, and

means for rotatably adjusting the pin to vary the tension of the spring.

3. A shaft-support, comprising a bracket secured to the axle and having a pair of rearwardly-extending arms, a pin rotatably mounted in the arms, a helical spring rigidly secured at one end to the pin and having its other end extended forward over the top of the axle to form an arm or lever, an adjustable clip upon the shaft through which the front part of the arm slides, means for rotatably adjusting the pin to vary the tension of the spring, and a stop on the outer end of the arm to prevent the disengagement of the arm from the clip.

4. A shaft-support, comprising a bracket secured to the axle and having a pair of rearwardly extending arms spring pressed toward each other, and one of said arms provided with a laterally-projecting lip, a pin rotatably mounted in the arms, a helical spring rigidly secured at one .end to the pin and having its other end extended forward over the top of the axle to form an arm or le ver, a clip upon the shaft through which the front part of the arm slides, and a cotter secured in a transverse eye in the pin so as to engage the lip on the bracket-arm and hold the pin in different positions of adjustment to vary the tension of the spring.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EMIL NESTLER.

Witnesses:

HYRUM F. THOMAS, Gno. A. FERRE. 

